5th October, 2017
The Lagos State Government on Thursday brainstormed with stakeholders in the water transportation sector in a bid to reposition the sector and make it more effective.
The event was held in Ikoyi, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria with hundreds of stakeholders present to contribute their input on how to effectively reposition the system. The theme of the stakeholders forum is “The Role of Water Transportation in the Development of an Integrated Transportation System in Lagos.”
Managing Director, Lagos State Waterways Authority, LASWA, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel said the agency was concerned about current operators raising standards and that new entrants would maintain the established standards, as government wanted a sustainable development of the state’s inland waterways.
To achieve this, he said joint effort was required, saying that “let me quickly point out that LASWA as the inland waterways regulator for Lagos State continued this role of ensuring safety and various interventions on the waterways despite its not being able to generate substantial revenue due to the court injunction on the 28th March, 2014, which was reversed on July 18, 2017.”
Emmanuel stated that the inland waterways is a constantly developing sector that required joint efforts and contributions from all stakeholders for its sustainable development.
According to him, the government would lead the way by continuously working towards creating the right environment for operators to thrive and flourish.
He said the operators should therefore pay all requisite dues and fees to the state government, adding that LASWA had begun regularisation exercise to capture the database of operators in the state’s waterways.
“Stakeholders should come to us, we need all your data, it is not only about money, we want to engage you to move the water sector forward. We implore you to come and regularise your membership,” he said.
The Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr Hakeem Dickson, said that boats having plate numbers would help promote better safety on water as boats could be tracked easily, disclosing that discussions were ongoing about the introduction.
He also appealed to boat and ferry operators to ensure that their passengers put on life jacket and shun all forms of overloading in order to avoid accident on the waterways.
General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Adesina Tiamiyu said the agency had been well equipped to combat emergency anywhere in the state, while harping on the need for all stakeholders to embrace safety standard.
Chairman, Lagos State Ferry Services, Paul Kalejaiye stated that the government was concerned about development in the state’s waterways and that the state was now moving from a mega city to a smart city status.
He lashed out at the National Inland Waterways, NIWA, for dragging a court judgment ruled in Lagos’ favour with the state government just because of the money it wanted to generate rather than being conscious of the safety of the operators and the passengers.
Kalejaiye said for effective ferry service in the state’s waterways, at least 1,000 ferries were needed to convey passengers to and from their destinations across the state.